KYIV: Ukraine said on Monday it had destroyed a Russian Beriev A-50 spy plane and an Ilyushin Il-22 airborne command post in the Sea of Azov area, dealing a blow to Russian military operations in occupied southern Ukraine.
"Ukraine's Air Force destroyed an enemy A-50 long-range radar detection aircraft and an enemy IL-22 air control centre," army chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
"I am grateful to the Air Force for the perfectly planned and executed operation in the Azov Sea region!"
The Russian defence ministry did not immediately respond to a written request for comment.
The Ukrainian defence ministry valued the A-50 aircraft at $330 million. Kyiv's statements did not say how the planes had been destroyed.
The A-50, which first came into service near the end of the Soviet era, is a large Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft that can scan an area several hundred kilometres across for enemy aircraft, ships and missiles.
London-based think tank IISS said in a 2021 report that Russia had nine A-50 aircraft in operation, including four modernised A-50U planes.
The Russian defence ministry said early last year that the modernised A-50U had been carrying out missions during the war in Ukraine.
The aircraft, which goes by the Nato reporting name of Mainstay, can detect more than 300 targets simultaneously, it said.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin on Monday said that talks in Davos on Kyiv's peace proposals would achieve nothing as Russia was not participating in the discussions, and Moscow will continue its military operation in Ukraine until it achieves all its goals.
"This is simply talking for the sake of talking," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said when asked about the discussions on Ukraine in Davos.
"This process cannot be aimed at achieving any specific results for the obvious reason - we are not participating. Without our participation, any discussions are devoid of any prospect of any results."
Ukraine says it will not rest until every Russian soldier leaves its territory and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has decreed that any talks with Russia are illegal.
Russia, which controls just under a fifth of Ukrainian territory, has dismissed Zelenskiy's peace plan, known as his "peace formula", as absurd as it aims to find peace without Russian participation.
Zelenskiy's 10-point plan calls for the withdrawal of Russian troops, cessation of hostilities, and the restoration of Ukraine's state borders with Russia. — Reuters
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